So, you’re looking for Football Manager 2024 Epic Games? Join the club. Honestly, if you didn’t grab it during that wild week in September 2024, things just got a whole lot more complicated.
The digital shelves are basically empty now.
Sega and Sports Interactive have this habit—well, it's actually a licensing requirement—of pulling old games once the new ones take over the spotlight. Since we’re now firmly into 2026, FM24 has officially been "delisted." That sounds fancy, but it basically means you can't just hop onto the Epic Games Store, search for it, and hit "buy."
The Great Delisting of 2025
Why did it vanish? Licenses. Football Manager is basically a giant spreadsheet of real-world names, faces, and logos. Those deals with leagues and players aren't forever. Usually, about a year or so after a game's release, the rights expire, and the devs have to stop selling it.
It happened right around November 2025 when the newer titles started rolling out. If you already own it, don’t panic. It's still in your Epic library. You can download it, delete it, and reinstall it until your hard drive gives up the ghost. But for everyone else? You're looking at a "This content is currently unavailable" message that feels like a red card in the 90th minute.
The September Giveaway Legend
If you were around from September 5 to September 12, 2024, you might have snagged the deal of the century. Epic gave FM24 away for free. Completely. $0.00.
A lot of people think these giveaways are just "free to play" weekends. They aren't. If you claimed it then, it's yours forever. I've seen plenty of people on Reddit lately asking if they can still get that deal. Short answer: No. Long answer: Definitely no, and anyone telling you they have a "free gift link" in 2026 is probably trying to steal your login info.
Is There Any Way to Still Get It?
Kinda. But it’s sketchy and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you're desperate.
👉 See also: Finding the Right Fallout 4 Perk ID Without Breaking Your Save File
You can find "Epic Games Accounts" for sale on third-party sites like G2A or Kinguin that already have the game in the library. This is a bit of a gamble. You’re basically buying someone else’s login. Sometimes it works; sometimes the account gets reclaimed by the original owner two weeks later.
There’s also the CD-key route. Sometimes, you can find a global key that you can redeem on the FM Redeem website, which then lets you pick Epic as your platform. These keys are becoming rarer than a world-class wonderkid with a £5m release clause.
Solving the In-Game Editor Nightmare
Here’s a weird glitch that’s been driving the community crazy lately. Since FM24 was delisted, some people who own the game on Epic have noticed the In-Game Editor (the little magic pencil icon) has gone grey or disappeared.
It's a sync issue. Because the store page for the editor is gone, the game sometimes struggles to "verify" that you actually bought it.
- Open the Epic Games Launcher.
- Go to your Library.
- Click the three dots on FM24 and hit "Manage."
- Verify the files.
- Launch the game while specifically being online.
If it’s still greyed out, you usually have to go into the "Downloads" section in the game's main menu. It forces a check with the Epic servers. If you never bought the editor before the delisting, you’re basically out of luck—you can’t buy it now.
Why People Still Prefer FM24 Over Newer Versions
You’d think everyone would just move on to the latest version, right? Not really. FM24 was the "peak" of the old engine. It was the most polished, bug-free version before the series made the massive jump to the Unity engine.
For many, the match engine in FM24 just feels... right. The way inverted full-backs move and how the set-piece creator works—it’s stable. Newer versions have had some growing pains with the engine transition, so a huge chunk of the player base is sticking with their 20-season deep saves in FM24.
Plus, the Save Game Compatibility feature was a game-changer. You could bring your FM23 save into FM24. People have careers that have been running for three real-life years now. You can't just walk away from a Champions League-winning Wrexham squad that easily.
Minimum Specs for 2026 Hardware
The good news is that if you're running a PC or Mac bought in the last five years, FM24 will run like a dream.
- RAM: 4GB is the "minimum," but honestly, 8GB is what you need if you want to load more than three leagues.
- Storage: 7GB. It’s tiny compared to modern 100GB behemoths.
- Processor: Even an old Intel Core 2 will technically run it, but your week-to-week processing will take ages. Stick to an i5 or Ryzen 5 if you value your sanity.
Managing Your Expectations
If you’re looking for the official J-League (J1, J2, J3), FM24 was the first one to have it fully licensed out of the box. This was huge. No more downloading "real name fixes" just to play in Japan.
If you are a Mac user, make sure you're on at least macOS 11. The Apple M1 chips run this game incredibly well because of the optimization Sports Interactive put in toward the end of the game's life cycle.
Actionable Next Steps
If you already own Football Manager 2024 Epic Games, your best move is to back up your "Sports Interactive" folder in your Documents. This contains your save games, tactics, and any facepacks or logo packs you've installed. Since the game is delisted, if Epic ever has a major server hiccup, you want your local files safe.
If you don't own it yet, stop looking for "free" downloads. Check reputable key reseller sites for a "Global Steam/Epic Key," but be prepared to pay a premium. If the price is over $60, you're better off just jumping into the newest version of the game, which is readily available and has the updated squads for the current season.
✨ Don't miss: Free Spider Solitaire From Microsoft: Why We Are Still Obsessed Decades Later
Check your Epic library one last time—sort by "Alphabetical" and look for the "F" section. You might have claimed it during the 2024 giveaway and totally forgotten about it. It happens more often than you'd think.